Sia – TV is My Parent

Longtime readers to W♥M will note how we really love Sia (I reviewed Some People Have Real Problems, Gus wrote Zero 7, and Christopher thinks Sia sounds like Kimya Dawson). When I heard that latest release will be a live DVD called TV Is My Parent (to be released next week, May 19^th on Monkey Puzzle Records/Hear Music), I had to get my hands on this for review.

Sia – Academia Destiny

Looking over the setlist from this show, I recognize most of these songs from her later works, from her recent album and her collaborations with Zero 7 (check out “Destiny”!) to Colour the Small One (the crowded loved “Sunday”!).

The entire one hour show, includes a “pretend encore” encore (The Zero 7 song, “Distractions”), was shot at the Hiro Ballroom in NYC on September 12^th, 2007. I think they were just finishing up Some People Have Real Problems around this time, so you do hear some of her new songs on this DVD release (“Academia”, “Day Too Soon”, and “You Have Been Loved” to name a few).

The DVD opens up with the hidden-track from Problems called “Buttons”. Combining “crude” child-like drawings with neon fluorescent colors (an wonderfully catchy song to boot) it was really hard to top that. Although I will confess that “The Girls You Lost To Cocaine” came very close.

The best part of the show was when Sia pulled a tooth out of her bra shortly before “Breathe Me”. The tooth was from her guitarist, who had the tooth taken out the previous night. What I took out of this is what a strange creature Sia is. She’s like this child, keeping a tooth close to her chest the whole time!

Sia and company seems at ease on stage, not at all nervous. They knew the show was being filmed, but you get the impression that Sia welcomes this. The video editing by director Nic Wrathall and 5.1 surround sound are excellent. I’m just surprise it took them this long to get the whole thing together as a DVD release. I don’t think there is a bluray version, but seeing as it was shot in high-definition, I wouldn’t be surprise if they decide to release a bluray version later on.

The special features includes four official music videos, including the wonderful “Soon We’ll Be Found” video. The rest of the features is Sia and friends recording random “Behind the Scenes” snippets. These bits aren’t very long, but it gives you a glimpse to the band and what they’re like on tour. It’s really meant for hardcore fans as it will just seem boring to casual fans… But if you do decide hunt for the eastereggs, try and find “pushups for shots” videos. I love hearing “Too easy, mate! Too easy!“, followed by Sia’s pushups.

For those wondering, the complete song listing is here:

•  
  1. Buttons
  2. Little Black Sandals
  3. Lentil
  4. Day Too Soon
  5. Sunday
  6. Destiny
  7. Breathe Me
  8. Electric Bird
  9. You Have Been Loved
  10. Academia
  11. The Girls You Lost To Cocaine
  12. Distractions

SETLIST

Be sure to pick up the DVD next Tuesday, fans who pre-order TV is My Parent gets a chance to get their DVD autographed by Sia, herself. It’s quite limited, only 10 will win.

Can’t get enough of Sia? She recently released an exclusive iTunes live EP called Sydney. It’s seven tracks from her in-store performance at the Apple Store in Sydney, Australia, and it’s available now for $7.